What could go wrong?
by 11Lil'MissWriter11
Summary: What if Zach and Cammie had never met in school? What if they both went on to become top CIA agents? What if they are both put together on the same mission? What could possibly go wrong there? READ AND REVIEW!
1. A GIRL ON A MISSION

**Cammie**

The last thing that I wanted to be doing right now was paperwork. I could be training in the gym against some of the top spies in the country, or give a few new recruits a lesson in self-defense, or be on a mission trailing someone who would never know I was there. They don't call me Chameleon for nothing. In fact, not many people, even colleagues who have the same level of clearance as I do, know my name. As far as they're concerned, that information is classified. So, around the agency, everyone calls me Chameleon. If you're wondering why, it's because the Circle of Cavan is still after me. So, if Cammie Morgan doesn't exist unless to some people with the highest level of clearance, they can't exactly find me.

Looking over my report one last time to make sure I hadn't left any details out (not a chance) or confused some facts (as if), I left it in the basket of things I would file later for the Director to read.

_**RING!**_

The small, black, standard-issue telephone that sits on my desk chimes out shrilly, so I press the button on the side that would put it on speaker.

"Hello, this is Chameleon speaking." I say formally, not knowing who was calling.

"Geez, for an agency full of spies, you'd think they'd at least get you phones with caller ID." The familiar British accent states. "So, Chameleon. Anyone else in the room with you?"

"Not at the moment." I can't help but smile at my friends antics.

"Good. I'd like to be able to call my best friend by her real name every once in a while! So how did it go in Dubai, Cam?" Bex asked, referring to my latest mission.

"Same old, same old. You know, for a bunch of evil freaking geniuses, you'd think that maybe one of them would stop and say 'Hey! Let's make air ducts that aren't big enough to make good crawl spaces!' or 'Maybe since I'm being followed, I shouldn't say something of vital importance that someone in hearing proximity could possibly pick up!'"

"But it certainly makes things so much Bloody easier for us, so I wouldn't complain."

"Who said I was complaining?" I asked, smiling. She just laughed.

"I miss you so much, Cam!" she exclaimed. "When was the last time I saw you? Seven months ago? Eight?"

"And you call yourself a spy! For your information, it's been seven months, twelve days, si-"

"Yeah, yeah. " she cut me off. "Sixteen minutes and… wait for it… twenty one… twenty two.. twenty three seconds."

"Same old Bex. Have you heard from Liz or Macey?" I ask, curious about my two other best friends.

"Liz is currently being her computer-nerdy self and hacking into some organization's data base for the CIA, so they can send a few people on a mission, though I haven't heard any detail, and Macey is attending some political whatchamacallit." I laughed.

"Nice. Anyway, we'll all have to meet up sometime this week. I miss you all so much, and it seems like it's never the four of us. Someone is always off on a mission." I sighed , knowing what Bex would say next.

"Which would mostly be us two."

"Yup." I replied, popping the p.

"Alright. How about Thursday night, at the Café?" she asked.

"Sounds good. Do you mind calling Macey and Liz to ask them? I'm up to my eyeballs in paperwork."

"Course not." She said, I could almost hear her smiling. "See ya, Chameleon."

"Later, Duchess." I shot back. I heard her laugh again before the line went dead. I sighed a then hung up. It was sad how little I got to see my friends these days, especially compared to when we still went to Gallagher and lived with each other. Sighing again (I do it a lot these days) I picked up the next piece of paperwork that I was required to fill out when the phone's shrill chime cut the silence again.

"Hello, this is Chameleon speaking." I repeated after putting it on speaker again. This is the way I answered most phone calls. It was simple and automatic now, so don't be surprised.

"Hello, Chameleon. This is the Director. Please be in my office in no less than five minutes. We have an important matter to discuss." He stated. Short and to the point, as always.

"Yes, sir." I replied and the line went dead. I set the manila folder, full of sheets yet to be filled out, back in the pile of things to do and left my office (making sure to lock it behind me, of course).

~O~

"Sir?" I asked, walking through the door, and shutting it tightly behind me.

"Ah, yes, Cameron. Come in, come in." he said, sorting through a couple of files before pulling out a blue folder and a green folder and setting them on his desk. "You are needed for a mission."

"What?" I ask. I'm used to going on missions, but I got back from my last one just last week. I'd never gotten two this close before.

"I realize you have only just returned from a successful mission in Dubai, but we are confident in your skills and trust you to get the job done quicker and more effectively than any other agent." I took a deep breath.

"And may I ask what this mission is for?" I asked.

"In three weeks, in Paris, a party is being held. Some of the richest socialites and company owners in the world will be there. Unfortunately, so will a few terrorist organizations, and some members of the Circle of Cavan. We have received the Intel suggesting that a microchip, containing some very dangerous information, will be passed from one of the organizations to the Circle. For obvious reasons, we cannot let this happen. The hosts of this party are… compromised at the moment. We are sending you and another of our best field agents to mascaraed as them for a while, and intercept the microchip at all costs. Here are your covers." He said, sliding the folders across the desk towards me.

"Sir? Why do I have both?"

"Ah, yes. You will be meeting up with your partner tomorrow a predetermined location and will deliver to him the green folder, which contains his cover. You may work together to prepare in the days leading up to the mission or not. It is your choice. But one way or another, I need you both completely ready for whatever is thrown at you on this mission. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, then. Dismissed."

"But sir? Where is the location I am meeting my partner at?" I asked.

"And how will I know it's him?"

"Just ask for his code name. it's in his folder."

"Thank you sir." I replied and then I swiftly left the office.

I walked down the hall, peering into his file.

**Cover: Antonio La 'Rue**

**Code name: Cryptic**

**Name: Zachary Goode**

**Hello readers! Or at least I **_**hope**_** some people are reading this… anyway…. I would like to say that if you are reading this, thank you! It means a lot that you take the time to read this. Feel free to flame my story if you want, because it will help me become a better writer (but I'm not saying that you **_**should **_**flame me, just that I won't get mad if you do) any way. Please Review!**


	2. THE CHAMELEON

**Cammie**

**Cover: Abrielle La 'Rue**

** Code Name: Chameleon**

** Name: Classified **

** Age: 24**

**Appearance: 5'6, curly blond/brown hair, green eyes**

** Personality: Cheerful, bubbly, stubborn, witty**

** Husband: Antonio La 'Rue, married for a year**

** Current Residency: Paris, France**

** Backstory: Father is a rich icon. Has three brothers, Pierre, Tolous and Bertram. It was found that her father is a member of the Circle of Cavan. Abrielle and Antonio are hosting a party at their house to celebrate their anniversary. At some point during the night a microchip will be passed to you for safekeeping until it would be able to reach Abrielle's father and be introduced to the Circle.**

** Mission objective: Intercept the Microchip containing vital information on the Circle**

It was the day after I'd received the mission asI read it over for what seemed like the hundredth time (though in reality, it was only 48). I knew the information like the back of my hand. I could recite it forwards, backwards or sideway. That's how it's supposed to be. A spy's cover is their life-line, you stick with it to the end. One slip-up could be the difference between life and death. So you had to make sure you wouldn't slip up.

I'll go to the gym, I decided. I can always clear my mind and think when I'm training.

So approximately 26 minutes later, I was in was in gray shorts and a tight fitting white t-shirt.

I sparred with a few people for a couple of hours (and won, though I do have a few bruises) Director came in.

"Chameleon. It's time to go meet your partner." He said, as I quickly ended the sparring match between me and a newbie named Travis.

"Yes, Sir." I said, and I quickly left to get ready. Half an hour later I was dressed in dark jeans, a purple t-shirt and a pair of sneakers. I carried a small purse to hold the files that contained our covers and the wallet that holds my multiple IDs, but that's it. Time to go meet Zachary Goode.

**Zach**

"So you're telling me that I'm going to Paris on a mission to retrieve some microchip with a partner, but you won't tell me who my partner is, what's on the microchip, or who we're getting it from?" I asked Joe Solomon.

"Yes. But you will be meeting your partner in about an hour. She will give you the file that has your cover and the details of the mission." He replied

"And do you know who my partner is?" I asked, trying to clue him in that he wasn't getting away without giving some answers.

"Yes, I do. I've had the pleasure of working with her a few times over the year."

"Her?"

"Yes, her."

"And you're not going to elaborate at all?"

"All I'll tell you is that you will be meeting her at the east corner of the fountain in the center of the mall. Oh but before you meet up, we're testing some of the young Blackthorne students to see if they can spot a tail, so when we get there, you and a few other agents will be tailing the boys through the mall to see if they can spot you."

"Alright…" I answered, slightly unsure about this partner, who I have no information on.

"Bye, Zach. I'll meet you outside the mall entrance in an hour to show you the boy you'll be tailing." And with that, Joe Solomon walked out the door. Sure, I've been on many other missions, but never has anyone been so vague about what we were doing and who I'd be doing it with.

~O~

An hour later, I stood outside the mall doors, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, with six other agents, only some of which I recognized. Joe went around, handing us each a picture of the boy we'd be tailing. Mine had short brown hair, blue eyes and a few freckles. Easy enough. Then one of the younger recruits, Jeremy I think it was, spoke up.

"But, Joe, there are only seven of us here, and you brought eight kids for the test. Where's the last agent?" this perked my interest as well, though. No one should ever be a no-show when it came to Joe Solomon.

"Chameleon is already tailing her assigned child." He said, which I found odd. Usually we didn't speak in code names unless talking over comms.

"Chameleon?" one of the older agents asked, incredulous. "You're sending Chameleon after a sophomore? Poor kid, he doesn't stand a chance."

"Yeah, Joe? Why'd you pick Chameleon for this?" another agent asked.

"Let's say that I overheard Leo saying that this was going to be an easy job, and that he wanted a challenge for a change. Wish granted." Joe stated, winking towards the person who'd asked.

"Whoa, wait. Who's Chameleon?" Jeremy asked, and some of the older agents laughed.

"Let's just say that I have sympathy towards Leo at the moment. If Chameleon doesn't want to be seen… she isn't seen." I was curious as to who this Chameleon was.

"And what makes Chameleon so good?" I asked, drawing a few smiles.

"You, Zachary, are good" Joe Solomon said. "But Chameleon takes good to a whole other level. I'm sure you'll meet Chameleon sooner or later." He said with a certain gleam in his eye, though what it meant, I had no idea. "Now go tail them. They've got their head-start by now."

It wasn't long until I found the kid I was supposed to be trailing, Jason. He did a few surveillance techniques and took many precautions to see if there was anyone following him, but I'd also been trained that way, so I knew how to avoid that. His eyes landed on me once, but then moved on. So I continued to tail him, not knowing whether or not he'd seen me. So far, Jeremy had been seen, so had one of the older agents, Sophia, and also some guy named Murphy.

"Jacinda, you've been compromised." Joe Solomon's voice, crackled over the Comm, indicating that she'd been spotted. Not two minutes later was, "Luke, Verna, you've both been compromised." Now there was just me, and Chameleon. But apparently, Chameleon was too good to be spotted. I'd show them. I was better than some person who was too arrogant to be called by their real name. I'd-

"Zachary, you've been compromised." Joe said, while I cursed in Farsi. "Congratulations Chameleon. But I believe you have somewhere to go now."

"Alright, Joe. I'll see you later." A bubbly voice came through my Comm. Chameleon was a girl? Is it wrong for me to suddenly feel very competitive?

"I'm guessing that I have to go meet my partner now. So I'll talk to you later, Joe." I said, then I turned off my Comm and proceeded to walk towards the center of the mall.

Sitting on the edge of the fountain on the east corner was a small girl. Well, she wasn't exactly small, just not strong looking, and a few inches shorter than me, probably 5'5. She had semi-long, straight, dirty blond hair and her skin was slightly tanned. Green eyes peeked out from behind her hair and if you didn't look carefully, it would appear as if she were people-watching, but being a spy, I knew better. She was looking for me. Suddenly her eyes landed on me, and she gave a small nod, as if acknowledging the fact that I was there. I walked forward confidently, with a smirk on my face. This was my partner for the mission? She didn't look like much, but then again, looks were very deceiving.

"And you are?" she inquired.

"Zachary Goode." I answered, wondering if she was going to question that fact at all. Any good spy would.

"And why do you give me any reason to believe that?"

"How about I tell you my code name then?" I asked, giving her a smirk, to which she rolled her eyes.

"Go ahead."

"Cryptic."

"Well, nice to meet you Zachary." She said, holding out her hand. I took it and we shook. Then she took two folders out of her purse, one green, on blue.

"Please, call me Zach."

"Alright, Zack. These are our covers. I know both already, so you can take mine and look it over a bit if you want to." She said, gesturing to the folders.

"Alright, sounds good… I never caught your name, sorry. And you would be?" I asked, flashing her a flirtatious smile (to which she didn't react at all, I might add).

"I'm sorry, but that information is classified." She stated simply. Was she for real? Whose _name_ is classified?

"Well, I gotta call you something, Honey." I joked with her, but she just gave me a hard look.

"Whatever it is, I suggest it wouldn't be Honey if you like your face the way it currently is." She said, her tone steely.

"Well, what should I call you then?" I asked, with a smile of amusement on my face.

"Call me by my code name. Everyone does."

"And that would be, Sweetheart?" she looked slightly annoyed, but she stayed calm.

"It should be in the blue folder with the rest of my cover she said, putting the folders in my hands. By the time I looked up she was gone. I shrugged it off and opened up the blue folder.

**Cover: Abrielle La 'Rue**

Alright. So her cover is my wife. Not bad.

**Name: Classified**

Wow. She wasn't kidding. I'd have Jonas look into this later.

** Code Name: Chameleon **

Oh. I did not see that coming.


	3. SOME THINGS ARE BETTER LEFT UNKNOWN

**Cammie**

Going to the Café on Thursday evening would not be good for your health. Three very impatient, highly trained CIA agents tend not to be as friendly when they're quite ticked off at their friend for being late.

"I'm really sorry guys…" I say, jogging over to the outside table that they were sitting at. "Had a tail for three blocks before I could lose him." I sat down in the last chair at the table. "How's everybody's life been? It's been too long." Bex was sipping on some sort of Latte while Macey just had a water, and Liz was drinking a smoothie.

"Oh Ca- oops. What's your cover right now?" she whispered the last part.

"Oh, come one. Are you saying that after all these years you still don't recognize me as Melanie O'Hara?" **(A/N Melanie O'Hara? Where else have you heard that one? Comment if you know what Melanie O'Hara is from) **I was currently wearing a curly blond wig that went to my mid back, blue contacts and a sprinkling of freckles across my nose.

"Sorry Mel. I just haven't seen you in like forever!" Liz drawls in her soft southern accent.

"Well, no one's really seen Mel for a while. Always off on some vacation. I heard the last one was in Dubai." Bex smiled a little. "Anyway, I have really big news!" she was practically squealing (which is very un-Bex like. Bex doesn't squeal.) "Now, see if you can notice anything different about me." She challenged. I remembered Joe Solomon's first lesson in CoveOps class and could almost hear him saying _Notice things_.

Bex still looked like Bex. Her skin looked a little tanner, but it seemed like that always happened whenever I saw her. Her hair had been cut short and had layers, but I don't think that was the kind of thing she would be pointing out to us after no communication for over seven months. I continued to look for anything out of the ordinary, and didn't see much until a certain flash from her left hand caught my eye. It was a small silver ring with a fairly large diamond set in the center.

"You're engaged? To who!" I exclaimed, to which Macey and Liz both looked down at her hand and saw the ring.

"His name is Grant." She giggled. "We went on a mission together three months ago to Brazil. It turns out that he was one of the Blackthorne Boys in the exchange that one year and I was the guide he had assigned to him! And we got to know each other and everything. When we got back we went out a few times… and he's really sweet to me and a couple weeks ago, he proposed!"

"Aww, I'm happy for you Bex!" Liz sighed. "I've been dating this guy, but we haven't really seen each other much lately and I think I'll break up with him. Plus, there is this really cute guy named Jonas that I worked on this latest hacking job with…" she trailed off.

"Anyway, you guys…" I started. "I'm going on a mission next week."

"What? But you just got back!" Bex exclaimed

"Yeah, I know Bex, but it's… it's the Circle." I said, which put grim looks on all of their faces. "A terrorist organization is passing a microchip to a woman named Abrielle La 'Rue at a party she's hosting to celebrate the one year wedding anniversary with her husband. Abrielle's father is in the circle and the chip is supposed to be passed to him, but Abrielle and Antonio La 'Rue are… compromised at the moment, so this agent, Zachary Goode, and I are to mascaraed as the couple, intercept the chip, and return it safely to the agency." They were all leaned in, listening closely.

"Zach Goode?" Bex asked. "Grant's best friends with Zach. I've never actually met him, though, but I've heard he's really good."

"Well," Macey stated. "I think this mission is a load of crap. I haven't seen my best friend in over seven months and when we finally meet up she say 'Oh, yeah, sorry, but I'm leaving in a week'." Bex, Liz and I laughed.

"I missed you too, Mace." I said, sill laughing when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. "Hold on guys.

"Hello, this is Chameleon speaking."

"Hello, Chameleon. This is the Director. I have unfortunate news. Apparently there was a flaw in the communication and you will have to be in Paris by Saturday. Please be at the airport by noon on Friday."

"Yes, sir." I said, grimacing. They couldn't let me enjoy some time with my friends? The line went dead and I dropped my head into my hands and rubbed my temples.

"What's wrong, Mel?" Liz asked.

"There was a mix up in communication. I don't leave in a week."

"Well that's good!" Bex exclaimed, looking on the bright side as always.

"No, it's not good." I groaned, making them all look confused. "I don't leave next week, because I leave for Paris on Friday."

"Okay. Then we'll have to make what we can of the little time we have." Macey said. "And trust me when I say this, Mel. If you're going to Paris to act like a socialite and _convince_ people, you need a new wardrobe. I'm sure the agency won't mind us using a little money if it's for the benefit of your mission." Somehow, I didn't think that Macey McHenry was too concerned about the mission. "We're going shopping girls." I groaned. This was going to be a long day, albeit a fun one to spend with the girls, but this was going to be a long day.

~O~

"Nope."

"Nuh-uh."

"No way."

"Not a chance." They just kept coming. Apparently every dress she had me try on was too flashy, or too dull, or too short, or too long, or too loose. You get the picture. But she still had my trying them on. This next one I had hopes for. It had a lacy top with a sweetheart neck line and the smooth black fabric continued down in layered ruffles to the floor. It was elegant and simple without being boring and understated.

"I like it." Macey said as I stepped out. "It fits you nicely."

"I agree. We're gonna make you one smoking socialite." Bex said, smiling in a way that made me fearful as to what she as planning.

"It's very pretty." Liz said, nodding her head.

"I like it a lot, and it would fit in nicely at a socialite party. I'll get it." I said.

"Whoa, there. You still need at least one more dress. It's not like you're a socialite for one night only. You're there on a mission and what is one of the number one rules of spies?" Macey asked.

"Be prepared for anything and everything. And I think that boy scouts stole it from us." Bex answered for me. "But go try on your other dresses, so we can go look at shoes."

It continued on in the same pattern of 'No's and 'No way's, but somewhere along the sea of fabric, we found me two other good dresses.

The second one was a white strapless dress that had a pretty sash made up of gems in the patterns of leaves that came right below my chest. From there it floated down softly to about mid-thigh.

The third one was a strapless silver gown. The bodice had an intricate sewing patter and strips of gems, but at the hips the rest of the fabric flowed to the floor. **(A/N if you want to see what they look like, the link to the dresses are on my profile.)**

We found a nice pair of shoes to go with each dress and then sat down at some restraint for a nice Italian dinner.

"So have you met Zach?" Bex asked.

"Yeah. We met at the fountain in the mall yesterday so I could give him his cover."

"Was he hot?"

"I guess…" I faltered a bit. I hadn't really paid attention. "Well, one thing I know is he is cocky. He was either smirking at me or giving me a flirtatious smile."

"And what did you do?" Macey asked, making me feel like we were back at Gallagher and I was still the girl who was trying to get Josh and be a spy-in-training all at the same time.

"I acted aloof and mysterious. Better for him to wonder." I say with a mischievous smile. "He certainly looked confused when I gave him his cover and by the time he looked up I was gone. Well, not really gone, but, you know…"

"You were in your Chameleon-mode?" Bex suggested, making us laugh.

"Yeah, I went into Chameleon-mode." I said. "I had fun today, girls. We should seriously do this more often."

"You think you're getting off the hook that easily?" Macey asked. "No, we'll be at your place bright and early tomorrow to give you a complete makeover. After all, if this Zach guy _is_ hot, you want to look good don't you?"

"Well, I guess… bu-"

"No buts. We'll see you at seven tomorrow. So, anyone want to split a pepperoni pizza?" Bex asked. I groaned a bit.

"Sure. I'm starving." I said. Same old friends. Sometimes when you're a spy, it's nice that some things never change. It's a foundation. My friends will be there no matter what. That I'm sure of.

**Zach**

I walked into the small apartment that belonged to my friend, Jonas.

"Jonas?" I call out, to see if he was home.

"Hey, Zach." A voice calls from the small room off to the left of the main room. It was his work space at home. Sure he had an office at the agency, but this was for off hours. "How are you?"

"Pretty good. I Met my partner for this new mission yesterday, and it turns out we're leaving for Paris tomorrow."

"So, who is he?" Jonas asked.

"Her, dude. My partner is a girl. And I really have no idea who she is, but everyone says she's good. I was wondering if you could hack into her file."

"Are you insulting my abilities? Of course I can. What's her name?" he asked, moving over to a different computer.

"It's not that easy. She was very vague about everything, but one thing she made clear; who she is, is classified information. Her _name_ is classified. Her _name_, dude. Have you ever met anyone whose name is classified?"

"Well, no. Is there anything you could give me to help me identify this girl?"

"Would her code name be any help?"

"Yeah. I could easily find her by the code name. What is it?"

"Chameleon." He started to type something but then stopped and turned to face me.

"You want me to get _Chameleon's_ file?" he asked.

"Yeah. What is it about her that has to be kept so secret? My mother is the _leader_ of the Circle of Cavan and no one has found the need to make my name classified."

"No one knows why. And trust me, I would have hacked it a long time ago out of curiosity, but that file is _seriously_ protected."

"You, the world's best hacker, can't hack something? What the heck could possibly be in there? How seriously is it protected?"

"Well, you were gone with your mom at the time, but a group of sophomore Blackthorne student was chosen to go to Gallagher. I met a girl there, Liz. She's scary smart. I would make codes she couldn't crack, and then she would make codes that I couldn't. But Liz is Chameleon's best friend and she put the protection up on her file. No one can hack that, Zach."

"Will you try?" I asked. "If I'm going to Paris for who knows how long with her, and I'm going to pretend to be her husband, I'd like to know a little bit about her. Like possibly her _name_. maybe you could call up Liz and ask her."

"She wouldn't do that Liz is really loyal to her friends. Now, Zach, if you would go, I have some work to do." He seemed nervous for some reason.

"But, wait. You said that you met Liz at Gallagher academy, right?" he looked really nervous now.

"Um... yes."

"And Liz and Chameleon are best friends?"

"Yes, but Za-"

"And at that point, was information about her classified?"

"No, bu-"

"So you know, Jonas?"

"Yes, but I can't tell you. I'm sorry Zack, but I can't. I promised Liz."

"Jonas, please. For your best friend. Who knows, maybe I can help Chameleon. Like I said, my mother is the _leader _of the _Circle of Cavan_. How bad can it be?"

"Fine, ok, I'll do it. I have her file on my computer!" he went over to his laptop and pulled something up. "It's actually quite enjoyable to read. She wrote a whole CoveOps report on what happened in her life at Gallagher. But long story short. Her father was killed by the Circle. They're after her and some information she has. She's fought the Circle a couple of times and ran away from Gallagher after her Junior year to find answers. Apparently she found them, but even that isn't on her file. She came back three years after she disappeared and became a top CIA agent. She's good, Zach. She's really good. She's had to deal with a lot more in her life than she should've. She had responsibility thrust on her, Zach. But watch your back. She'll take you down if it means finishing her mission, especially since it has to do with the Circle. She's determined to tear it down, even if it means allowing herself to be killed. She'll do anything after what happened with her father. The reason no one uses her name, though, is because anything linked to her, no matter how small, can be traced by them. She's pretty much the person that has the best position and information to take them down, and they don't like that. They want to know what she knows and then they want her gone. She's actually really nice, Zach, even if she can seem cold and distant." Wow. I didn't know what to say after something like that.

"But what _is_ her name?" he hesistated.

"Cammie. Her name is Cammie Morgan."


	4. THE JOURNAL

**Cammie**

I yelped a bit as the proceeded with the next form of torment. I'm talking about the makeover, of course. Macey was currently waxing my eyebrows, which, let me tell you, does not feel good. Liz was painting my nails a shade of blue that I could only compare to the ocean. It was a pretty color, but that was hard to focus on while Macey McHenry was pulling half of my eyebrows off. Bex was using the curling iron to give my hair some wave to it.

Two hours of agony later, and I had to admit; I looked _good_. I could suggest twenty new, unusual ways to torture people, but I looked good.

"Okay, I have three hours until I have to be at the airport, but I'm all packed and all of my bags are in the car, so I just have to have some breakfast, get dressed and go." I ran all of it through my head.

"I say we have some omelets. Do you have the stuff in your fridge downstairs, Cam?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, and I have some berries if we wanted to make smoothies, but I think Macey is picking out an outfit for me."

"Okay, I'll start breakfast and make sure Bex hasn't set fire to your house by accident… again." We both started laughing at the memory. It had been two years ago and we had all gotten together like we were doing right now. I still can't believe I did this, but we let Bex try and cook dinner because she insisted that she'd gotten better at it. Long story short, an hour later, my kitchen was on fire.

"Sounds good." I said, getting control of my laughter. "I prefer to not have my house in flames."

"I CAN HEAR YOU GUYS!" Bex called up.

"OH, BE QUIET, REBECCA! YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE!" Macey yelled from my closet, probably looking for something she'd gotten for me the last time we were together and I've probably never worn. I heard a loud huff from downstairs, suggesting that Bex still hated her full name, but didn't feel like coming up to yell at Macey. "I think I found something that's really going to be cute on you!" Macey said happily. "Go downstairs for breakfast and I'll show you after."

"Alright, Mace." I said, and headed down to find Bex sulking in a chair by the table and Liz in the kitchen making omelets with a blender in the background. "Looks good." I told her. "And smells good, too."

"Well, that's good." She replied. I couldn't help but think of how different she was from back in high school. Of course, some things are still the same (like the fact that she says 'oopsie daisy' whenever she does something a bit klutzy) but other things are different. She was much more dexterous (Less clumsy) and a lot more confident with the things she did. She was still the cute, nerdy Liz from Gallagher, but little Lizzie had grown up. That much was certain. "I really hope they taste as good as they smell."

Macey came down the stairs and went over to the blender, to pour each of us a glass, and then took a sip of hers.

"And they're done!" Liz said happily, giving each of us an omelet on a plate. By then, Bex had cooled down, so we were able to enjoy breakfast without any yelling or broken bones.

"So… what did you pick out for Cam to wear on the plane? It has to be good." Bex asked

"I'll show you guys after we eat." Macey said simply.

"Okay." We dug in to the omelets (Which were amazing) and had our smoothies. I looked over at the time, 9:37. Okay so two hours and twenty three minutes left.

Macey lead us upstairs again and told Bex and Liz to wait in the bedroom. Apparently, I was modeling it for them. I couldn't wait! (Note the sarcasm)

Macey then brought me to the bathroom and had me put on a dress and a few other things, but she wouldn't let me look in the mirror yet. She put some mascara on me, eyeliner, eye shadow and some lipstick. When she turned me to face the mirror, all I could say was, "Whoa." I barely looked like me. Well… scratch that. I looked like me, but a fancier, prettier, better looking me.

I was wearing a form-fitting strapless gray dress that came to just above mid-thigh. The front had tiny ruffles going in a curved pattern. I was wearing high-heeled, gray, open-toed boots, but it only came up to my ankles. I was wearing a simple necklace with a thin silver chain and a sliver ring at the bottom. On my wrist was the bracelet that the four of us went out and bought. It was small silver chain links, and it had one modest charm; a silver heart, that on the backside had an engraving of all of our names. Over my arm was a silver bag that I was using as my carry-on. It was large enough to hold my laptop, a book or two, my wallet and a few other necessities.

She'd done my makeup lightly, but it still worked wonders. Macey had used a liquid foundation that was my skin color to make my look even and flawless. A light pink blush was spread over my cheekbones. She had curled my eyelashes and used the mascara to make them look long, thick and luxurious (Which they never did otherwise). The eyeliner was a silver that made my hazel eyes stand out prominently against the rest of my face. The gray eye shadow was put on delicately, giving me a light smoky-eyed look. My lips were a soft pink color that tied it all together nicely.

"I know, right? Come one, let's show the others." She grabbed my arm and dragged me out into the bedroom.

"Wow, girl." Bex said. "You are stunning."

"That's a really good look on her, Mace." Liz said. "But you were in there for a while. It's 10:14 and the airport is pretty far from here. You might want to get going."

"Oh, yeah!"

"Do you have all of the dresses?" Macey asked and I nodded. "The makeup? The other clothes?"

"All of your gadgets? Your grappling hook? Your laser?" Bex inquired

"Yes! I have everything, guys! We all went through my stuff together!" I exclaimed. "You sound like my mother!"

"Okay! Okay! We should go now, though. Can we come with you to the airport? We'll drop you off and say goodbye there." Liz asked me. "Please?"

"Sure." I shrugged.

~O~

Over an hour later, we were finally at the sectioned off area where the agency's private jet was parked, ready to take off.

"Oh, I'm going to miss you _so_ much, Cam!" Liz said. "I mean, I haven't seen you for so long and now you're leaving again! It doesn't seem fair."

"I know, Lizzie. I'm going to miss you, too!" I sighed as I hugged her goodbye and then turned to Macey.

"Thank you for all of your help, Mace. I'm going to miss you a lot."

"I'll miss you, Chameleon." She said as we hugged. "And when you get back, we are going shopping again to get you some new clothes." I laughed.

"Of course." Then I turned to Bex. "I'll miss you, Bexie. But, who knows, maybe I'll call you guys up because we need help. Then when the mission is over, if the agency doesn't need anything from us urgently, we could stay in Paris for a few days."

"Sounds good, Cammie. I'll take you up on that offer, and you know it. I'll miss you. Bye, Chameleon. Take down the Circle. I know you can, one mission at a time." I walked towards the plane, having already had my luggage put in, looking back at my three friends again and waved sadly.

"Paris…" I mumbled under my breath. "Here I come."

**Zach**

I watched as she walked towards the plane slowly, stopping in the middle to wave at her friends and then continued walking.

At first, I wondered if I was seeing the same person as I did at the mall. The girl at the mall didn't draw attention to herself, even if she was beautiful. She dressed understated and could blend in anywhere. Now, her beauty was shown off. The short, strapless dress showed of her long and tan legs, her hair had an added wave to it and the heels made her seem taller. Even dressed up, everything was simple. Her jewelry was low-key, a silver chain necklace with a ring at the bottom. Right now, her look demanded attention and focus, and it had to be like that, she was a socialite, but I had a feeling that even dressed like that, she could disappear just as easily as she had when we'd met.

One thing was for sure, she didn't look like a person that a terrorist organization such as the Circle would be after. With the confidence in her stride, she didn't seem like the kind of person who'd lost their father at a young age. With a fierce determination like her's, she didn't seem like the kind of person who after a year of running away and being hidden, had been held captive by the Circle for a week before escaping. With how delicate she looked despite everything, she wasn't the kind of person who looked like she'd be a spy (or be able to whoop your sorry but in a fight for that matter), but that's what a spy did; they made a mask, pretended to be something or someone they're not. The Chameleon was Cammie's mask. She'd seen pain and suffering but she stayed strong, she'd known panic and worry, but she was always calm.

One thing I couldn't deny, mask or not, Cammie looked stunning. She walked onto the plane and sat down on a recliner chair across the aisle from me and crossed her legs.

"Hey, Chameleon." I said, having to remind myself that I'm not supposed to know her name.

"Hello, Zach." She said, taking a laptop out of her silver bag, and not giving me a second glance.

"Those are your friends?" I asked, motioning out the window.

"Yeah. Bex, Liz and Macey. They're great." She said smiling.

"Bex?" I asked. The name was familiar.

"Oh, yeah. You're friends with Grant, Bex's fiancé." Oh, yeah.

"Yeah, Grant's mentioned her a few times, but I don't see him much these days…"

"Why is that?"

"One of us is always on a mission."

"I know how it feels. The same thing happened with my friends and I. This was the first time that I've seen any of them for the past seven months." She sighed.

"Really? When was your last mission?"

"I got back a week ago." She said. "There was some major figure from the Circle there and so I had to go get him."

"How'd it go?"

"the agency is interrogating him right now."

"Oh." I said, running out of things to ask her. She seemed to be closing up the more I asked her. "So you went to Gallagher?" I asked her. She just turned and gave me a '_no, duh_' look. "Right…"

"That's where I met them. My friends, I mean. We shared a room there for years." She smiled a bit, but she seemed to suddenly remember something unpleasant and frowned. "I'm sure you went to Blackthorne." I just nodded, confirming this. She was typing something on her computer, but I couldn't see what it was from this angle. By this point the plane was going down the runway, finally.

"What kind of stuff do they teach you at Gallagher?"

"Probably the same stuff they teach at Blackthorne."

"What was your favorite class?"

"CoveOps. Joe Solomon was our teacher. I remember, before the Blackthorne exchange, when we had to tail all the boys in D.C…." she trailed off a bit, and kept typing. I was curious to see what she was doing that distracted her so much, because she didn't really seem to be paying much attention.

"I'm guessing they didn't see you?"

"They don't call me Chameleon for no reason." She answered simply.

"What was your most interesting moment of a CoveOps test?" that got her attention quickly. She looked over, her eyes wide.

"Well, before Macey came, Bex, Liz and I were supposed to trail one of our teachers-who has to be the most paranoid person on the planet-through the fair and find out what kind of soda he was drinking and retrieve the bottle with the fingerprints still intact…" she started out. I nodded, listening carefully. "Anyway, Bex and Liz got caught by him and I was completing the mission and I got the bottle, but he saw me. Not the teacher, but Josh. I don't know what was different about him… Most highly trained spies can't find me when I don't want to be found, but he always saw me whether I wanted him to or not. He was a normal civilian but then we went out into town one night and I talked with him for a bit… long story short, I used the secret passageways and got in our camera's blind spots and I would sneak out to see him. My first boyfriend and he didn't even know the real me. He eventually got any memory of me erased, but…" she shrugged slightly, trailing off into memories. "I guess I think it's the most interesting because I can never figure out how he saw me…"

"Wow…" I said, not knowing what to think. She yawned quietly. "You tired?"

"Yeah…" she said sleepily, typing one last thing on her computer before closing it part way. I stood up and got a pillow and a blanket from a compartment above her. She was already half-asleep when I spread the blanket over her. She curled up and pulled the blanket into her. Not a minute later, she was breathing deeply.

She looked younger when she was sleeping. Like she was a child, innocent and small. I studied her sleeping form. She slept peacefully, with a small smile on her rosy pink lips.

Her computer screen glowed slightly, I realized. She hadn't shut it all the way, so everything would still be open. I felt kind of bad for doing it, but I wanted to see what she had been typing.

It looked like a Journal entry, almost like a diary of sorts. I was about to close it, thinking that after what I'd heard last night from Jonas, that I should leave it be, but then I saw my name in there. Sorry, I don't know why, but I wanted to know what she thought about me.

_**August 14**__**th**_

_** Off to Paris today. Lucky me! (note the sarcasm) I wish I could've stayed with my friends, even for one more day. I miss all of them a lot. Sometimes I'll wake up, wishing for the days when Bex would always be in the bed over to my left, snoring. I miss Liz with her occasional clumsiness. She's the only person I know on this planet who knows how to cuss in 16 languages, but says 'Oopsie daisy' instead. Macey I miss, with all her complaining because I would always know that's her mask. She cares a lot, she just doesn't always show it.**_

_** But most of all, I think I miss the days where people didn't know me as Chameleon. I want to be Cammie Morgan again. I want to be Cammie, headmistress of Gallagher's daughter, Joe Solomon's goddaughter, pavement artist. I want to be able to go back to the day where I wasn't seen because I belonged, not because I pretended to belong.**_

_** Anyway, I'm officially neither Cammie nor Chameleon right now; I'm Abrielle La 'Rue. Maybe that's one thing about being a spy that I enjoy. I enjoy the rollercoaster of feelings you get when in danger (not that I go looking for danger, it usually finds me). I enjoy the feeling when I'm being someone who, well, I'm not. I enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that I am slowly taking down the organization that killed my dad, leaving my mom and I alone so many years.**_

_** Chasing after the Circle of Cavan on these missions always remind me of my first encounter with them on the roof of that building in D.C., and how we assumed they were after Macey, not me. I remember clearly when they called out 'Get her'. Back then I was young and foolish and had no idea what I was up against. Then after I ran away, when they caught me. I still have nightmares of that sometimes, but it knocked some sense into my teenaged mind. I found the answers, but that only makes them want me more. It gets tiring these days when someone calls me Chameleon. I want to look at that person and say "My name is Cammie. Cammie Morgan, and don't you forget that." It makes me feel weak, hiding behind a code name, but I know that it's the safest thing to do.**_

_** My mom used to say that I was being forced to grow up too quickly, and I know now that she was right. Does it sound childish to want to be able to be five again, back when I was still innocent? Back when I would eat a cookie on the sofa with **_**both**_** my parent next to me and they would watch one of those animated movies that I've seen a thousand times with me.**_

_** If only I knew back then what I do now, everything would have changed, but sadly, Liz still hasn't gotten a working proto-type for a time machine, so I'm stuck here dealing with this situation.**_

_** I would never tell anyone I feel this way. I'm Chameleon, the field agent that never backs down from a challenge. But sometimes I want to show people that I hurt, too.**_

_** So I'm off to Paris with Zach Goode. I'm not quite sure what to make of him, yet. He seems like a good enough guy, but then again, most guys do until you really get to know them. He's asking me these questions about me right now, and I know he's curious about who I am, everyone is, but I'm not sure I'm ready to let anyone in. I spent years building walls to block out the distraction, the heartache, the unneeded trouble, but sometimes I wish I still had someone to wrap their arms around me and whisper in my ear that everything was going to be okay.**_

_**Cammie Morgan, the Chameleon.**_

After reading that, I felt bad about it, knowing that it was private, but part of being a spy is knowing things you shouldn't, right? The plane hit some turbulence and her head fell onto my shoulder (not that I minded at all). I know that it was supposed to be private, but I gave me a feel for who Cammie Morgan really is. She shifted in her sleep so that her head was on my chest. I remembered what she said, so I put my arm around her. She was warm and soft. I wasn't sure about what I was doing but she sighed happily. I let my head rest back in my seat and closed my eyes. I think I'm going to enjoy this mission.


	5. PARIS, CITY OF LOVE

**Zach**

I woke up to Cammie squirming around. Her eyes were still closed, but the look on her face was anything but peaceful.

Her eyebrows were scrunched together in worry, and her breath came in short gasps. Her legs were kicking and she kept mumbling something unintelligible.

I shook her a little, untangling my body from hers.

"Chameleon…" I said, shaking her a little bit harder. "Chameleon, wake up… come on, you need to wake up…"

Her eyes shot open. She sat up so quickly that she almost smashed her head into my jaw.

"Zach?" she asked. "What are you doing?"

"You were having a nightmare, I woke you up."

"Oh." She answered quietly.

"You want to talk about it?" she just shook her head and bit her bottom lip. "Okay. We'll be landing in about an hour." I told her. She nodded again, and then grabbed her laptop to type again. She started to type something, but then got a faraway look, her eyes full of pain. I looked away, pretending not to see her wipe away the tear falling down her cheek.

It was a quiet hour. I spent it pretending to read a book, but actually looking at her out of the corner of my eyes.

She switched off between typing on her laptop and wiping the occasional tear when she thought I couldn't see. She looked fragile at the moment, like she was made of glass and could break at any moment. Then the announcement came that we would be landing in ten minutes. Then she put on her mask. She packed her stuff away silently and her expression hardened. Her eyes no longer held pain, just severe determination. She smoothed her hair down a bit (Which had gotten quite messed up while she slept) and took a deep breath.

I have been training to be a spy my whole life, and never have I seen quite a transformation. A minute ago it seemed like she needed comforting, but now she looked ready to take on the world.

"Ready to go, Gallagher Girl?" I asked. She arched an eyebrow at me.

"Gallagher Girl?" she seemed indignant.

"Yeah, Gallagher Girl. Since apparently your name is too confidential for me to know," but not confidential enough, I thought. "and you _did_ go to Gallagher, therefore putting forward the notion that you're a girl, Why not?" she just shot me an annoyed look, and I smirked smugly. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Alright, Blackthorne Boy, yes I'm ready to get out of a confined space with you. You really know how to annoy the heck out of a girl in the five minutes you talk to her." The plane hit the runway, touching down at the airport. The Eiffel Tower stood tall along the dark horizon. It was about one o' clock in the morning in France at the moment so it was lit up brightly. I heard a soft "Wow…" from Cammie.

"Never been to France before?" I asked with a small laugh, the smirk still prominent on my face. She rolled her eyes again with a cute expression of annoyance on her face.

"It was… a long time ago. And let say I didn't have much time to enjoy the sights." She said vaguely.

"How long ago?"

"A while ago." She didn't elaborate.

"Well, we'll have to change that." I said, standing up now that the plane was parked and offering her my hand. She didn't take it, instead standing up on her own. "Sometime while we're here I'll take you sightseeing. How's that sound?" She bit her lip as if considering the offer. Then she smiled a small smile.

"That would be really nice, Zach."

"And if I did that," I asked stepping off the plane and starting to walk towards the car we would take to our hotel. "Would you tell me your name?" I wanted her to tell me, so I could start calling her by her actual name and not have to admit looking at her file.

"There's a reason it's classified. So, no." she responded sharply, as if she didn't like the turn the conversation had taken. I guess I wouldn't either.

"And could you tell me that reason?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, but that information is classified." She said, repeating the words of when I'd asked her name at the mall.

"And why is it classified? It doesn't sound like you like being called by your code name all that much."

"And how would you know if I liked it or not?" she asked, stepping around me to get in the back of the car.

"Spy." I said, pointing to myself with a smirk. She rolled her eyes.

"Get in the car, Zach." She said with a sigh.

"As long as you tell me why it's classified." I said, crossing my arms defiantly like a toddler. I knew why it was classified, but I enjoyed annoying her, truthfully. It gave her that cute little expression. She would bite her bottom lip and her nose would get all scrunched up.

"Because if it wasn't, the people around me could get hurt." She said it sadly, and for a second I thought she would go back to the girl on the plane. The one that was fragile and scared. But then she turned a glare on me, her hazel eyes twinkling with malice. "Now get in the freaking car before I come out there and drag your sorry butt in here the hard way." I just laughed and sat next to her, closing the car door and the driver sped away to bring us to our destination.

"That's no way to treat your husband, Abrielle." I told her in French.

"No it's not, Antonio. But my husband shouldn't enjoy making me miserable so much." She shot back. I looked at the space on the seat between us and there was an envelope with our names on it. I opened it to find two rings. One was a simple gold band, the other was thin and more delicately crafted, with a large round Diamond set on the center.

"Abrielle? Did you lose your ring again?" I asked, holding it out for her. We had to put on a show for the driver, considering he wasn't an agent and he could easily be in contact with one of the organizations coming to the party.

"Oh, Antonio, thank you. I've been looking everywhere for that!" She exclaimed and let me put it on her finger. She leaned over to kiss me on the cheek and when she was pulling away, she whispered into my ear in English, making me involuntarily shiver. "That was for show, so don't expect it to happen too often." Then we settled into a comfortable silence with her leaning onto me for the rest of the way.

**Cammie**

The hotel room we got was magnificent. It was large and grand, the walls were painted gold and the curtains were red velvet that covered the enormous windows and a French door leading to a balcony that overlooked the most breathtaking view of Paris. There was one problem with it, though. It only had one bed. Zach was smirking off to the side as he realized the same thing.

I decided to ignore the fact for now and I went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. I stripped myself of the ridiculously short (or at least it seemed too short to me) dress and washed the makeup off my face. I put on a silky nightgown that Macey had packed for me, pulled my hair back, brushed my teeth and left to go to sleep.

Though exhausted, I still noticed the fact that Zach was staring at me when I came out (the nightgown suddenly feeling a bit too small).

"Enjoying yourself?" I asked, putting on the smirk he always wore. He just smirked back to which I rolled my eyes.

"Quite." He smiled before he went into the bathroom, coming out minutes later in shorts, leaving his well-toned exposed.

I was lying in the bed when he came out and turned off the lights. He came over to lie next to me.

"There's a couch over there." I said, pointing towards the wall. "You can go there now."

"I don't think I will." He mumbled, rolling over so that he was extremely close to me.

"I told you to go sleep on the couch." I hissed at him.

"And I'm not listening very well, am I?" he joked, throwing his arm over me. I sighed, knowing that no matter how stubborn I was, he wouldn't listen. "Goodnight, Gallagher Girl." He whispered into my ear quietly. I suppressed the urge to shiver at his closeness.

"Goodnight, Zach." I laid there, my eyes open for a while until his breathing steadied. I turned my head to see him out cold so I whispered back, "Cammie. My name is Cammie."

And I laid there until my eyelids got so heavy that I couldn't possibly keep them open any longer.

I fell into sleep, hoping that the nightmares wouldn't come again.

But they would. I knew it. They always do. There's not much I can do but grit my teeth and get through it. Cause I'm the Chameleon. I always get through it.

**Sorry guys. I know this chapter isn't very good, but it's just a filler. Next chapter will be better. I promise. Wait! I take it back. I promise on one condition. I'll make the next chapter as long as you REVIEW!**


	6. THE HOTEL

**Zach**

I woke up around 9 o' clock the next morning, but Cammie was still passed out next to me. I didn't want to move. Ever. Her body was warm and comfortable, pressed up against mine. She had rolled over during the night and she was now half-lying on top of me, her dirty blond hair spread wildly around her face. I didn't want to move, but I had to get up. The party was tonight. We still had to move all of our stuff into the mansion they owned, set up for the party and get ready. That didn't leave much time for sightseeing. So I carefully moved her head onto the pillow beside me and stepped onto the hard wood floors.

I walked into the bathroom and put on some clothes that could pass for 'young, rich, married French Terrorist guy'. I walked out and for a while, just sat on the edge of the bed to watch her sleep. That was until her computer pinged. That's right, it pinged. It was a short sound that cut through the otherwise silent room, like a bell.

I walked over quietly and opened up the laptop. Surprisingly, the computer hadn't unlocked for some reason and I was able to go right on.

There in the middle of the screen was a small box that read:

**1 new message**

**Rebecca (Bex) Baxter**

OPEN

I clicked open and a message filled the screen.

_To: Chameleon_

_From: Duchess_

_Hey Cam!_

_ How's the mission so far? Have you run into any trouble at all? Do you need any help, yet? (I told you I would take you up on your offer, didn't I? :P) Anyway, I'm just here to say I miss you already, and so do Liz and Macey. Do you miss us yet? Who am I kidding? Of course you do!_

_ I'm in the middle of convincing the Director to let us come over there to help you and Zach! But he said he'd only agree if Zach's friends could come, too. I'm not complaining at all, of course. I'd be in Paris with my three best friends and my Fiancé on a kick-ass mission! What else could I ask for? He also had the condition that you and Zach both have to agree. But come one, you already offered so it's not like you're gonna say no, and if Zach doesn't want to let us come, just sweet-talk him a little, if you know what I mean. ;)_

_Anyway, let me know!_

_Duchess_

I thought about it for second and then decided what to do. I pressed reply.

_To: Duchess_

_From: Chameleon_

_Hi Duchess,_

_ This is Zach right now (Chameleon's passed out currently and her computer was on when your message came…). I think we'd both love you guys to come, but I'm not going to tell her. You guys can surprise her when you show up. You won't arrive in time for the La 'Rue's party but this isn't a one-night deal. We're apparently only talking about the exchange there… the actual exchange will happen at one other party we're invited to at the house of the guy we are dealing with… so you'll be here for that part._

_ Let me know your thoughts._

_Zachary Goode_

Once I closed out of the message, I couldn't help but notice that I was on the new page of her journal.

_**August 14**__**th**__**, entry 2**_

_** I really don't know why I'm breaking down right now. I always have these nightmares when I go on a mission, but this time it was different somehow, though I can't quite recall the difference from the usual.**_

_** It always starts out the same way. There he is, chained to the wall behind him, my dad. He looks just as I remember him, but he's weak and broken. I remember him always being so strong, but now he's covered him bruises, his chest rises and falls slowly, as if it takes almost too much effort to draw in the breath that's keeping him alive. Then **_**she**_** walks in. I don't know her name or who she really is, but I know she's their leader, and that she is the main thing standing between me and my ultimate goal of destroying the Circle. She walks over to him, her footsteps forever more click-clacking against the cement floor.**_

_** She beats him. She wants information that he won't give. He'd die before he gave in, and that's exactly what he did, but not in this nightmare. No. every time she kicks him, or punches him and he cries out in pain, it's worse than a physical wound. I feel each blow he feels and the emotions rolling through me make me try to surge forward to help him, but I'm stuck there. I'm stuck watching my dad be tortured.**_

_** Zach woke me this time, though, before it got too bad. But sometimes, I can't wake up and it comes to the point where I watch my father slump down, resigned to the fact that he's not getting out alive.**_

_** But he woke me. His arm was around me and I acted as if I didn't notice, but I did. I think that's what I really needed. All these years I've just needed someone who would stand by my side. My friends would do that, but we're always so far apart.**_

_** I still don't know why it affected me so much more this time. I usually keep my cool until I'm alone somewhere and can quietly let it out, but this time, I snapped. Maybe it's the reoccurrence. The fact that I've seen it over and over and over, but I'm not quite sure.**_

_** Zach was trying to get me to tell him my name, but I can't do that to him. I can't burden him with what's **_**really **_**happened to me. Anyone who knows me or is involved with me in any sort of way has always gotten hurt. I can't do that to him. I just can't bring myself to do that.**_

_** Maybe it's that I'm worried about this mission for some reason. I don't know why that would make a difference. No spy is ever, and I mean **_**ever**_**, not worried that something will go wrong, because there are a lot of things that can go wrong. They can cover it up if they try hard enough, but they still are.**_

_** I'm so conflicted. I really don't know what to do. I want to tell him, I really do, but do I want to badly enough to put him into so much more danger than we are already? But we're spies! We do dangerous stuff anyway! But this is so much more dangerous.**_

_** Oh boy. There I go again arguing with myself. The sad part is I lose both ways. *sigh***_

_** When did my life began to be so difficult? Probably on that roof in D.C…**_

_** No. It was before that. When we got the call in the middle of the night.**_

_** I was too young to really understand what was happening at first. All I knew was something bad enough happened that it was able to make my mother cry. And my mother never cried.**_

_** Anyway, it's late. I've mulled over this too long. I'm on a mission, and I'll finish it if it kills me.**_

That's where it ended. I looked over at Cammie's sleeping form and it really hit me then. My mother did this. My mother made Cammie's life have to be like this.

"No…" I heard a small murmur from the direction of the bed and she was rolling around. "No… not him… not him… take me, just not him…" her voice, even during her sleep was full of despair. It hurt to see her like that. Then came her small yelp of pain. I walked over and shook her shoulder again, to wake her up.

It took a while, but a few minutes later, she looked up at me with pain-filled eyes, brimming over in tears.

"Zach…" she said softly. I just pulled her in and ran my fingers through her hair.

"It's okay, Gallagher Girl." I told her gently. "Everything's going to be okay." Right then and there, the most beautiful girl in the world fell asleep crying in his arms. Things could be worse.


	7. THE PARTY

**Cammie**

"No way. I thought you said it was a _house_." I stared in disbelief, while he just laughed. When we first drove up, I thought it was another hotel. It was huge. Four floors tall, painted a color that looked almost like real gold. There were enormous windows everywhere.

"It _is_ a house. A house owned by a couple in which the wife happens to have an international terrorist/millionaire father." He answered with a smirk. I rolled my eyes. (It's becoming a normal thing now. He smirks, I roll my eyes). "Now get your stuff. It took you long enough to get ready back at the hotel. The party starts at nine, it's noon, so we have some time."

"But we still have to set up for the party." I pointed out.

"Then we better get moving." He grabbed our suitcases out of the back of the car and handed me my suitcase. He turned and strode through the door as if he owned the place (and I guess our covers _did_, but still).

I walked through the doors and was absolutely amazed by what I saw. The entire place resembled a golden palace. The walls and floors were made of marble. The front entryway's section covered in a soft, thick, white rug that I sank into.

I followed Zach up the staircase (which was also carved out of marble) to what was supposed to be our room.

Now the master bedroom was even more elegant (if that's possible). It was large, the wallpaper was a soft tan and the carpet was spotless white. Billowy curtains framed floor-to-ceiling windows, surrounded by gold.

By the time I walked in, Zach was getting ready to leave already.

"I'm going to go start setting up, you can unpack your stuff." He said, and then he left.

I roamed around the room in silence, putting my things in drawers, or hanging them up in the closet (Which is almost as big as the room itself).

"Abrielle." Zach's voice called. "The butler and maids are taking care of it, apparently. So, we could do some sightseeing now…"

"Sure, Antonio. I'll be right there." I said. I threw on some clothes, did a little bit of makeup, and rushed out to meet him. "Okay, let's go." I said. He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the garage. "Um… why don't we ask the driver to take us somewhere?" I asked him.

"Because it's not as much fun. And this way we're alone." He smiled at me and my heart stopped beating for a moment, only to start up again, ten times as fast. I wondered if he noticed the affect it had on me because he smirked. Causing me to, of course, roll my eyes. He pulled me inside the building (which is about the size of a normal person's house) and over to a motorcycle. "Hop on." He invited, sitting on the front. I sat behind him, wrapping my arms hesitantly around his waist. "Not scared, are you, Gallagher Girl?" he smirked. I'll give you three tries to guess what I did.

"Course not. Should I be?" I asked, my voice calm, but the truth? I was nervous. I'd never really gotten close to anyone since Josh.

"Yes. Yes you should be." And with that, he smiled mischievously back at me, put up the kickstand, and we shot forward. I yelped softly as I was thrown back, automatically tightening my grip around Zach's waist. He slowed down, then did it again.

"Stop doing that!" I yelled, my voice a bit shaken.

"Doing what?" Zach asked, trying to sound all innocent.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"Oh. You mean this…" and with that he shot us forwards again. I hit him on the arm. He just smirks at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, that." I say venomously.

"Alright, alright! Where do you want to go first?"

"I thought you were the tour guide. Lead on." He laughed and we drove off into the streets of Paris.

He brought me everywhere that Paris has to offer. The Seine, the Arc de Triomph, the Louvre (Of which, upon close inspection, isn't nearly as secure as it should be. We found over 153 ways that it could be robbed. That is, if the robber is a CIA agent that has trained since 7th grade. Highly doubtful), and, finally, when the sun started to set at eight o' clock, he brought me up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

It's a wonderful thing to look around you and be able to see everything. All the light of the City of Love twinkled merrily below us as an accordion player off to the side played a soft melody.

"It's too bad we have to leave soon…" I said, looking around again wistfully, then shivered. I'd put on a yellow, one-shoulder, ruffled sundress earlier. It was quite cold but I didn't want to leave.

Zach, noticing this (Well, duh he did. Spy!) took off his soft, tan leather jacket and draped it around my shoulders.

"Cliché, much?" I joked with him. "But really, thanks. It's beautiful." I say, looking around again.

"Yeah, yeah it is." But he wasn't looking at the view. He hadn't taken his eyes off me. "It's the City of Love. What do you expect?"

"Oh, I don't know. Last time I came here my life was inches away from death so I didn't exactly get a good first impression." I winced slightly at the memory.

"And you're not going to tell me about it?" he asked, a little hopeful. I wanted to, I really wanted to… but, no. I couldn't.

"Nope."

"Your name? Please, just tell me your name…"

"And why do you want my name so badly?" I asked, with an eyebrow arched.

"You don't trust me?"

"I don't know, do I?" I turned to face him. His face was inches from mine… I wanted to tell him so badly….

"Are you going to answer all of my questions with more questions?" he asked, leaning in farther.

"I don't know. Will I?" I smirked, just like he'd been doing the last two days. I leaned forward, too.

"Will you?" he asked, but he seemed to be asking something completely different.

"I think I will." I kissed him. I was kissing Zach Goode on top of the Eiffel Tower. W-o-w. I pulled away sooner than I would have liked to. "Um… sorry." I looked down at my shoes. I should be more in control of my emotions. I barely knew him! I could say I was playing at my cover, the whole married couple thing, but he just chuckled.

"Sorry? You're sorry?" he put a finger beneath my chin and lifted my face so I had to look in his eyes. "You're an amazing person. Any guy would be lucky to have you. Don't make yourself think any differently. You're beautiful just the way you are." This time, he kissed me. I was in heaven. My knees went weak and I melted into him. I pulled away again, looking away, positive my face was bright red.

"Cammie." I said, breathlessly. "My name is Cammie."

"Cammie the Chameleon. It's got a nice ring to it." He smiled. I couldn't help but smile back.

"It's getting pretty late, we should go and get ready for the party…" he just smirked.

"Back to the motorcycle." I groaned. He smirked. I rolled my eyes. it's good that some things never change.

~O~

Half an hour later, I was ready for the party, a mere fifteen minutes before it started. I wore the black strapless dress that the girls and I had picked out. I curled my hair and put on my makeup the way Macey showed me. I couldn't wait for tonight. I don't know why, but the idea of pretending to be Zach's wife made me giddy.

I walked out of the bathroom, the dark fabric floating along with me. Tonight was going to be fun.

**Zach**

I swear, if I hadn't been trained as a spy, my mouth would have dropped to the floor. I mean, sure she's always beautiful, but she tries to hide it normally. I guess that's her Chameleon nature.

She smiled as she came over to me and kissed me lightly on the cheek.

"Ready?" she asked.

"As I'll ever be."

We walked down to the ballroom. If the rest of the house was beautiful, I don't know a word in any of the 17 languages I know to describe it.

"Wow…" Cammie whispered as we entered. The ceiling went up all four floors, the walls were all glass and if you looked closely, had gold designs etched carefully into them. The floor was a shining black marble that reflected the light from an enormous crystal chandelier, giving the room an almost other-worldly golden glow. The room itself was big enough to easily hold four jumbo-jets side-by-side.

"Yeah…" I breathed. Along the out walls were tables full of food and champagne of all sorts. There was a white gazebo outside, lit up with twinkling lights. A man sitting at the piano in the corner played a soft piece that echoed nicely throughout the room. But Cammie seemed to have a radiance around her that stole it all away. "May I have this dance?" I asked, doing a mock bow.

"Why of course." She said. I set a hand on her hip, she placed her hand on my shoulder and we clasped our other hands together. She stepped along, right with the music, but I struggled. I tried to follow her steps, but they were lithe and graceful. One thing I can't do; dance.

Before I could do any permanent damage to her feet (and make too much of a fool out of myself) the doors opened to reveal a group of about twenty guests.

After an hour or two of greeting people we didn't know, the room was full of people.

Cammie and I milled around the room, striking up small conversations.

"So, what's the name of the guy we're meeting?" Cammie asked once we were away from this one lady who kept babbling about her pet Chihuahua named Lola.

"They never said, but I'm sure he'll find us." She just gave an exasperated sigh.

"I've been on missions in almost every country this world has, but never have I had to deal with vacuity."

"Tell me about it."

"Why hello, Abrielle, Antonio." A voice came from behind us. I turned to see a small man with black hair and brown eyes.

"Hello." I responded.

"My name is Louis Je'Repa. I am under the impression that we are speaking of some business tonight?"

"Of course. I am very pleased to meet you, Mr. Je'Repa." Cammie replied, smiling sweetly at him. This was the man we were dealing with. Okay.

"Oh, please, Abrielle. You may call me Louis." He bent over and kissed her hand. "And may I say that you look ravishing tonight." A light pink tinged her cheeks.

"Thank you, Louis. When shall we discuss this business?"

"Later tonight. I cannot keep you from your own engagement party. Congratulations, by the way." He said, but he hadn't given me a second glance the entire time. He was staring at Cammie.

"Thank you very much. I love him more every day." she said, throwing a loving look up at me. I really hoped she wasn't just acting.

"I shall speak with you later. Until then…" he kissed her hand again and then left.

"Okay. Now that we have that set, time to mingle." I said.

We did many things that night. We made a toast to our anniversary, first. Cammie went around and talked to people as Abrielle as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The agents were right about one thing. Cammie Morgan was good. She danced with multiple men (and she's quite good at dancing) and floated throughout the party like a beacon of kindness.

"Quite the woman you have there." Many people had come up to him and said. He just replied the same to every single one.

"Yes. I am very lucky." i would smile, and then walk away.

The party was actually very fun to be at. Too bad that the happiness from that night didn't last long.


	8. HONEYPOTTING

**Cammie**

Almost all the guests had left by the time Louis found us again and we led him to a small sitting room.

"I would like to discuss the handling of the information I am to give you. You see, it is very important that I am able to trust you to pass the information on safely." Louis said as soon as we were all sitting.

"Why, Monsieur, of course you can trust us. My father will be able to hand the Circle of Cavan the needed information within the week." I responded, not missing a beat.

"Of, course Madame. But I have reason to be suspicious. You see, there has been a hint dropped that some CIA agents are working to interfere with our mission." I raised an eyebrow at the new information.

"Are you suggesting that we would be siding with the CIA, Monsieur? Against my own father? I find the idea ridiculous!" I huffed dramatically, looking offended.

"Yes, but you see, Madame… The security of this mission is critical, so if you would… before the party where you will receive the chip, I would like you to do a job for me…" he said.

"Excuse me?" I exclaimed. "I will not stand for this. My father is one of the most trusted agents you have!"

"Yes, Madame La 'Rue, but it is a small favor I ask, knowing your skills. You should find it extremely simple." Zach raised an eyebrow.

"We're listening." He said calmly.

"There is a rival of mine that is going to be at a Castro Romani tonight. He always dines there when he comes to town. He has a top secret project in the making. I want you to find out what it is, and bring me back the information you get." I almost laughed. That's it? That's all we have to do? Simple. We go there, get the information, tell him, then when we throw his sorry arse in jail, he won't be able to use the codes, and we'll also be able to stop this rival of his from any other 'projects'. I shared a look with Zach

"If that is all, we'll do it." He said, confidently.

"Good. I will see you on Wednesday, at the party for the chip." And with that, he left the room.

~O~

"Target sighted." I whisper into my Comms. I watch as Leonardo Vivatchio, Louis' rival, sat down at a table near the ballroom area of the restaurant.

"Copy that, Chameleon." Zach's voice murmurs into my ear.

"Oh, shut up, Cryptic! We're on a mission! I don't need any cheesy, over-used lines from a ridiculous spy movie!" I whisper-yell at him.

"Okay, okay." He responds, I could almost see him holding up his hands in surrender at my no-nonsense mood. "Just go in."

I walked into the restaurant in the short white dress that I'd also got while shopping with the girls and past the table Leonardo had just sat down at. He looked up at me. The thing about a Chameleon is they aren't seen when they don't want to be seen. That doesn't mean they aren't perfectly capable of being seen when they want to be. I put a distraught look on my face and sat down with a small sigh at the table next to him. He noticed, of course.

"Why is such a pretty young lady like yourself so upset?" he asked in French, with a strong Italian accent. I looked over at him, feigning surprise as if I didn't know he would talk to me. Then I looked sad again, fake tears threatening to spill over my eyes.

"I was supposed to meet someone here, Monsieur, but they never showed up…" I let my voice hitch a little. This was a honeypot mission. For those of you who don't know what that is, here… Honeypotting is where a female agent uses her… _femininity…_ to get the information that is needed. Zach was just there in case something went wrong. I doubt it. "I don't think he wanted me…"

"But how could anyone not want such a nice woman as yourself?" His eyes roamed hungrily over my body. I wanted to slap him in disgust, but sadly, I couldn't. It would ruin the mission. Plus, that's how a honeypot mission works.

"I-I don't know…" I said sadly, looking down.

"Would you like to join me for dinner?" He asked. I batted my eyelashes up at him.

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not. What wouldn't I do for such a kind, beautiful young woman as yourself?" I moved over to the table across from him and smiled shyly.

"_You are too good at this, Chameleon._" I heard Zach's voice come over the Comms. I wanted to turn to the corner where I knew he was standing and glare at him, but that would be a little weird.

"Do you know what you would like?" a waiter came over and asked.

"Yes. Get us both some _Vino Rosso_, please." He said. (it's a type of red wine, in case you didn't know). "What would you like, Bien Adore?" **(T.N. that means darling in French)**

"Something small…" I said, glancing at the menu. "The salad please."

"Alright. We'll be out soon with your food." The waiter said, and swept into the kitchen.

"So, Monsieur—"

"Please, call me Leonardo."

"OK, Leonardo. What do you for a living?"

"Oh, you would not want to listen to me ramble on about my job. It is quite boring." Doubt that. "Tell me about yourself, Bien Adore…" he leaned forward, but he didn't look as if he was really listening. For the sake of the mission, though, I had to talk.

"Oh, my life is quite boring as well. My name is Annette. My parents are entrepreneurs and rarely have time for me. I am 23 years old, and I was supposed to meet this boy, Raphael, here for our second date, but he never showed up." I looked sad again.

"Oh, Mon Amour **(T.N. means my love)**, I do feel sorrow for you. But tonight, let us not be sad. Would you like to dance?" he asked, motioning towards the ballroom area of the restaurant. I smiled at him, though I really wanted to puke. Here he was, a 47 year old man, making advances on a 23 year old, brokenhearted girl. Pathetic.

"I would love to, Monsieur."

He led me out to the dance floor and we danced for a little bit until I gasped suddenly.

"What is it, Mon Amour?" he asked, wrapping his arms around my waist. I heard Zach growl slightly through the Comms.

"Oh, Monsieur! I have no way to get home. I have no more money for a taxi, my friend dropped me off. My home is quite far from here so I couldn't walk. Oh, what am I going to do?"

"Mon Amour, do not fret. I can bring you home, or if you prefer, I have a guest room at my house not far from here. You could stay there for the night." He smiled down at me.

"That would be wonderful, Monsieur. I am very tired. It would be nice to have somewhere close to sleep." Zach was grumbling into the Comms again.

~O~

That is how I ended up in the house of a 43 year old terrorist's house, playing the part of a heartbroken 23 year old debutante. Did I forget to mention that the 43 year old had a little more in mind than sleeping? _Sigh._ That's what I get for choosing to be a spy. You _have_ to do honeypot missions sometimes…

"You may go into the Master bedroom for a little while, until I come. The maid should have laid out some nightclothes for you." Leonardo Vivatchio says, pointing to intricately carved, wooden double doors.

"Thank you Monsieur. I expect to see you in there soon?" I ask, a flirtatious smile resting on my lips.

"You have nothing to worry about, Mon Amour. I shall be in there soon." He smiled back. I walked quickly into the Master Bedroom, wanting to get away from him as soon as possible.

On the bed was a skimpy little silk nightgown that would barely reach mid-thigh.

"Ugh!" I grumbled softly, pulling it on. "I am never agreeing to do this again. We will do a stealthy retrieval and no one will know. Or have to do anything like this, for that matter." I ramble into the Comms.

"Settle down Chameleon. It can't be _that _bad." Zach replies. I was about to make some snarky response when the door opened. It was Leonardo.

"Oh, Mon Amour, you look stunning, as always." He whispers, taking my hand. He takes a finger and puts it under my chin, bringing my eyes up to meet his. I bring my hand up and run it along his cheek, as if to go up and kiss him, but the Napotine patch I had been fingering for what seemed like hours was now on his neck and he collapsed, unconscious. I dragged him up and threw him onto the bed.

"All clear, Zach." I say into the Comms, opening the window. In the next second there was a buzzing sound and there he was, outside the window on an almost invisible grappling line. "Let's get to work. His office is four doors down, on the left. He should have a computer there with the codes on it." I start to leave the room when Zach stops me, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards in amusement.

"I just have to say, it's not _that_ bad." I suddenly remember what I was currently wearing and my face turned a scarlet red.

"Shut up, Zachary Goode, before I kill you, burn the body and scatter the ashes in the ocean never to be found again." And with that I walked swiftly out of the room, without a glance back and into the hallway. I checked to see if any of the household staff was out, but they were all asleep. Perfect. I continued down the hall to his office, Zach's footsteps right behind me. We both slipped inside and I walked over to the computer.

It had a good security system.

But not good enough.

In just fifteen minutes Zach and I were grappling down the North side of the house to the car he had waiting with the codes imprinted in a tiny flash-drive (and a copy for the CIA of course).

When we walked into the La 'Rues' mansion, we both went up to the bedroom.

"Oh, no. You are not sleeping with me again tonight. And if you refuse, I swear… I don't care about your freaking cover, I will break every bone in your body."

"A little heavy on the threats tonight, are we?" he asked, stepping a bit closer.

"Sorry, just a little tense. I really don't like honeypot missions like that."

"I thought you did wonderfully." He put his finger under my chin and raised my head up, like Leonardo had done earlier that night, but this time it gave me chills. I looked up into his bright green eyes, and before I knew it, we were kissing.

"Am I interrupting something?" a familiar British voice makes us jump apart. "Looks like you were a tad… Busy." She was obviously talking about the fact that I still hadn't changed out of the ludicrous nightgown that I'd put on at Leonardo's.

"Umm… it's from a honeypot mission."

"And the way I see it, you did well, eh Zach?" a boy's voice came from behind Bex.

"Shut up, grant." Zach mumbles, just as red as I was.

"What are you guys doing here?" I ask, knowing that Liz and Macey and two other boys were also outside the door.

"Well, we were trying to convince the director to let us help you on the mission. He finally gave in two days ago, as long as we brought some male counterpart spies with us. So we obviously chose Zach's friends." Macey said.

"Well this is great! With the party where we get the microchip tomorrow, I'll need some help getting ready." I said, then I shooed all the boys out the door saying, "Girls can share a room together, so can the boys. Goodnight Zach."

"So, Cam… Had some fun on the mission, have you?" Bex raised an eyebrow as soon as we heard the door to their room closing.

"Shut up, Rebecca." She just laughed.

"He _is_ cute. But his friend, Nick, is who I have my sights set on." Macey said, filing her nails, with a nail file that I am _positive _wasn't there a second ago. Oh, well, it's Macey. Who knows?

"As much as I would like to stay up all night and talk about the boys… we have an important party tomorrow. It's best that we get some sleep." I said, crawling into the bed.

"Coolio. I call the couch!" Bex yells. I hear some groaning and muttering from the others, then the lights go out and I am out cold.


	9. GONE

**Cammie**

As Zach and I strode into the ballroom, arm in arm, I couldn't help but mutter "Wow…" under my breath. Despite the fact that it was five times the size, Louis Je'Repa's ballroom was not that different from the La 'Rue's. His floor was white marble, instead of black, but the three walls that didn't connect to his house were glass windows. His five story high ceiling was painted with an intricate pattern that I would've loved to have studied all night, but I think others would find it odd for my head to be staring at the ceiling for a long period of time. I wore the silver dress tonight, it being the only one I haven't worn. I nervously fingered to metallic fabric.

"This is Firewall," Jonas's voice crackled over the Comms. "Bookworm and I have entered the room."

"This is Duchess. Position: over by the refreshment table." Bex said, sounding slightly annoyed. "Greek God can't stop eating the party food." I caught a glimpse of her, standing where she said she was. Her dress was a beautiful one shoulder, red silk dress that floated to her mid-thigh.

"Greek God? Really Grant?" Macey scoffed. She was just walking through the door in a floor length, blue silk one shoulder dress that made her look even more like a super model than ever, one of Zach's friends named Nick looking pleased beside her. "Egotistical much? Anyway, this is Shadow and Peacock, entering."

I saw Liz and Jonas out of the corner of my eye attempting to dance, but they both have to be the least coordinated spies in existence. Liz was in a simple lavender gown, made of a softer material with a tie on the side. It came to a smooth stop at her knees. Liz was never one for dressing up.

"Hey, if you got, you got it." Grant shot at Macey.

"And you obviously don't." she quipped smoothly.

"Guys!" Zach whisper-yelled into the Comms. "We aren't here to bicker. Has anyone spotted The Subject?"

"Well, Cryptic," I said to Zach, "If they had, they would have told us, and if they hadn't been bickering, they would have been looking. So everybody go mingle and keep an eye out. Once we find him, we'll basically follow him around until he notices us and we decide to do business." I tried to sound more in-control than I was. At this moment, I was the closest to taking out the Circle I had been since… well, ever. "Now, mingle." I said again and broke away from Zach.

I went around, talked to many different people, danced with men, and accepted offers to get me a drink. I kept up a routine, always watching until after hours of keeping this up, a voice in my ear whispered. "Subject spotted."

It was Zach who had seen Louis.

"Where?" I questioned.

"East corner, sitting four tables back."

"Alone?"

"Alone." He confirmed.

"Meet me at the refreshments table, and then we'll go over there together."

"No, I'll do it by myself." He said. I froze.

"You'll do what now?" I hissed.

"It might be dangerous. I'll do it." Was he serious? Did he think I needed him to protect me?

"Look, Zach." I took a deep breath. "I have fought thirteen agents from the Circle on the edge of a cliff that was over a pool filled with piranha in one of the most remote places of the world, I can handle this. It's not your place to tell me what to do. You can tell me to stay here but I'll go over there with you whether or not you tell me to stay here. No matter what, and if you try to stop me you'll be on the ground so quickly you won't know what hit you. Any questions?" I ended and there was a silence on the Comms.

I looked to see the table where Louis Je'Repa was sitting, but Zach wasn't moving towards him. The silence was broken, of course, by Grant with a bone headed comment. "Got a feisty one there, Cryptic." And then I heard several different chuckles.

"So we go in together, Cryptic. Are we clear?" there was a pause.

"We're clear." Was the quiet reply.

"Alright. Refreshments table." I said and headed over there, where Zach was standing, looking like he couldn't decide whether to be angry or impressed. "Let's go" I said cheerily. He took my arm without a word.

"Hello, Monsieur." Zach greeted smoothly. He looked up, surprised.

"Ah, welcome, welcome. You look magnificent this evening, as always." Louis responded quickly, obviously distracted.

"You as well, Monsieur." I replied, trying to get his attention. "Shall we do business here or shall we move to a more… _private_ space?" his eyes finally seemed to focus on us.

"Oh, yes, yes. That is right. Business to do, so much to do." His voice gave a nervous quiver that worried me. His eyes darted around the ballroom as if expecting an attack at any moment. His dark hair was disheveled and his suit coat was skewed on his body. He looked like a nervous wreck. It made me extremely wary. Zach met my eyes and we agreed, something was very wrong.

As he led us to a small and cozy room I searched carefully. I found exactly 13 bugs (the listening kind) and 7 cameras in the room. Paranoid much? I whispered my findings to Liz over the Comms.

"Twist the gem on your ring." She told me. "I modified all of our jewelry as a precaution." She sounded sheepish. "But anyway, that should disable all other… unfriendly bit of technology within a fifty foot radius."

"Genius, Lizzie!" Bex exclaimed. Zach gave a slight nod acknowledging the conversation. I twisted the gem and noted that one of the bugs sparked slightly, then fell limp in its position. The corners of my mouth curled up as we sat down across from Louis. I was cautious of the reason he was so on edge but I had to keep up the performance of a socialite.

"Well, Louis… you sure know how to throw a party." I leaned back in the velvet chair and crossed my legs. "But we both know that not why we're here. We have your codes," Zach pulled the flash drive with Leonardo's codes, of which we had already sent a copy of to the Agency. "and you have ours. I hope you find no trouble with the exchange this time." Louis tugged at his collar.

"You have done me a great service, to which I thank you dearly, and of course there is no trouble with the exchange…" he pulled a flash drive from his own pocket, but this wasn't what we were looking for, or the microchip from our meeting at the La'Rue's party.

"I'm sorry, Monsieur, but that isn't the right one." something was wrong here.

"Oh, yes, apologies. I have another client here tonight and that is theirs." He said quickly, and then pulled out the microchip. "Here. Here's the right one." He handed it over with shaky hands, and we handed over the flashdrive.

"From what I'm hearing, get out of there as quickly as possible. Worst case scenario, they've found out who you are and are ready to kill you at a moment's notice." Bex said calmly over the Comms. Classic Bex.

"Thank you Monsieur, we look forward to doing business with you in the future." Zach said, then we stood up, and before Louis could put in a word, we had left the room and disappeared into the crowd.

"Split up and blend in. We leave in three minutes. I have escape routes being programmed." Liz said. "Girls, you can see it on the back side of the charm on your bracelet, guys on your cufflink."

"Nice Lizzie. Though how you got our suits to make these modifications, I have no idea."

I broke away from Zach and looked at the charm, memorizing my way out. I couldn't see any of the others from the team, but I took that as a good thing. All of a sudden, I had a weird feeling in my gut, like when Louis pulled out the flash drive, like something was really wrong, but I ignored it. What could go wrong when I only had to wait for Liz to give the signal that we could leave? What could possibly screw up a meticulously created escape?

I was answered by the windows shattering, sending shards of broken glass everywhere. Men dressed in all black flooded the room, and the next thing I knew, I was in for the fight of my life.

**Zach**

The party immediately turned chaotic. People screamed and ran for the nearest exit. The men dressed in black swarmed the gigantic ballroom, holding at least four civilians hostage at this point. Over the Comms I could hear grunts and screams. I could see mine and Cammie's friends fighting for their lives against at least two dozen men each, but they were quickly being overpowered. I wanted to help them, but these people were obviously from the Circle. That meant Cammie was in trouble, and that couldn't wait.

"Cammie!" I yelled frantically, running through hoards of terrified people. A few men went for me, but they were quickly unconscious. "CAMMIE!" I ran, pushing past party-goers, pulling an eight inch silver knife I had kept concealed in my suit jacket.

"Oh, Zachary, Dear." Her sickly sweet voice rang out above the din. Not Cammie's. My mother's. "Is it Cameron you're looking for? I'm afraid she's a bit… _preoccupied_ at the moment… I can certainly take a message, though." She appeared through the massive throng a people still rushing to find a way out in tight-fitting black clothing and combat boots.

"Where is she?" I yell, running up to her and forcing the edge of my blade against her throat. She didn't even flinch away. "WHERE!"

"Now, Zachy…" She cooed, giving me a venomous smile and making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. "Let's not make any rash decisions… We wouldn't want your precious little angel getting hurt, now would we? Noah!" she motioned behind her. "Bring her over here so my little Zachary can say goodbye…" She patted my cheek, disregarding the knife that threatened to take her life at any moment. Probably because I almost dropped it when I saw Cammie.

A large, burly man with more hair on his lip than on his head drug Cammie over, one massive (And extremely hairy) arm was wrapped around her neck. The left side of her face was swollen and purple. Her right arm was bent at an awkward angle and hung uselessly from her shoulder. Her silver dress was stained with blood and cut raggedly off just below her thighs. Her hair was matted and caked in blood. I wasn't sure if it was her own or someone else's. The man, Noah, chuckled as he was dragging her along, her legs flailing slightly, as if they wanted to protest, but they'd just lost the energy (or the will) to do so.

"Got ourselves a feisty one here." He said with a smug grin. It was too similar to what Grant had said earlier. Before, it had been a joke, this time, it made my skin crawl. "Took down five squads of highly-trained operatives before I pinned her." He looked down at Cammie with a disgusting gleam in his eye. "I like feisty." But as much as his words or her appearance, or even the entire situation affected me, none of it stopped me in my tracks as much as the gun-a small black, modest pistol. It was of a powerful and easily concealable make, but what unsettled me was the fact that it was pressed tightly to Cammie's temple. I made a strangled noise down in my throat, like a wounded animal. Cammie's eyes, before defiantly glaring at Noah, glanced in my direction. She seemed to be apologizing with her eyes, but I wouldn't stand for that. I wouldn't give up. Not on her. Not on Cammie.

"Z-Zach…" she coughed, "Don't…" I only pressed the knife deeper into my mother's throat.

"Let. Her. Go." I hissed through clenched teeth. My voice was as sharp and deadly as the knife I held in my hand, but my mother seemed unconcerned. Cammie was shaking her head.

"How naïve, Zachy…. I can't just let her go. Why don't you take that pretty little blade away from dear old Mommy's neck now, okay?" She smiled, but to me, it looked like a lion baring its teeth.

"I don't think you heard me correctly. Let her go, or you die." I snapped.

"Oh but Zachary… I think you've forgotten who has the upper hand here." She laughed. The guy holding Cammie cocked the gun and then pressed it harder into the side of his head, finger threatening to squeeze the trigger. "Now cooperate. Give me the microchip, and she might just live." Cammie's eyelashes fluttered as if she were fighting just to stay conscious.

"Zach." She said weakly. "Zach, don't so it. Don't give her what she wants. Don—" She fell limp, the light from the enormous chandelier hanging from a single chain glinting softly off the Napotine patch the was just placed on Cammie's neck.

"Now, Zach… Give me what I want." She said, smirking. I thought about what Cammie had said.

"Never." I spat at her, beads of blood forming where the edge of my knife met skin.

"Fine." My mother grinned. "You brought this upon yourself." She nodded to someone behind me. Before I could react, an arm held my arms in place while they were bound, the other arm wrapping around my neck. I looked at Cammie, limp, bloody, broken, beautiful. And the image was forevermore burned into the back of my mind as a blindfold was slipped over my eyes, blocking my view of her.

`Then there was the worst moment of my life. The air seemed to chill over, turning my blood into ice. The earth seemed to tilt, making my knees give out for a second. Because right then, my mother's voice carried around the room. In my ears it sounded like a never ending echo of two simple words.

"Kill her."

"NO!" I screamed, surging against my bonds, but they held tightly. Being helpless, I counted the seconds. One. Two. Thr-. A bang rang out through the high-ceilinged room. "CAMMIE!" my knees collapsed completely, no longer being able to support my wait. There was a high, cold laughter.

"Goodbye, Zachary." My mother murmured into my ear, but this barely registered in my mind. No, Cammie couldn't be dead. She just couldn't be.

That was the last thought I had before I felt a pressure on my neck and the familiar feel of a Napotine patch. I fell unconscious then, the bang that ended Cammie Morgan's life still ringing in my ears.


	10. LOST AND STILL NOT FOUND

**No one's POV**

"Alright, everyone out. And Noah, be careful with the girl. She's lost blood and we don't want her dying before we've gotten what we want from her." Mrs. Goode ordered her people around hurriedly, before the police showed up.

"But, Ma'am… isn't she already dead? You had her shot in the head." Adam, the new recruit asked.

"No, you bumbling fool! After all the years we've been after Ms. Morgan, the idea of just killing her? Ha! No, she's much to valuable to the organization." She leaned down and took the small microchip from her son's pocket. " The gun wasn't loaded. Her friends have to think she's dead. Then there's no rescue teams that come anywhere near our bases. I don't doubt our ability to take them, we are more than capable, but there is no need to take chances here. Now let's go people, let's go!" And with that, the helicopters took them off into the darkness as flashing lights and sirens appeared outside the Mansion of Louis Je'Repa.

**Zach**

My head throbbed and my eyelids felt like lead. Not that I wanted to open them anymore. Not with Cammie being gone.

Gone.

It was hard to think of Cammie that way.

Gone. Disappeared. Out of reach. Vanished.

But that's what she was.

The police had showed up and taken us in for questioning, but we only told them what was allowed given their clearance level. They let us go pretty quickly when they learned we were CIA.

In the car ride back to the hotel, I felt miserable. My face was in my hands, fingers massaging the temples to try and stop the inevitable headache.

It's surreal, to be in the world when someone you love isn't. Yeah, Zachary Goode fell in love. Zachary Goode then fell. Hard.

The night up on the Eiffel tower is when I should've realized it. The moment was so perfect. I wished I could've stayed in that moment forever. But , unfortunately, Liz and Jonas said their time-travel prototypes were far from finished, much less working.

A million questions raced through my mind. Why did they keep us alive? Highly trained CIA agents. In fact, some of the most wanted agents in the organization, and they left us alive. And Cammie… they wanted information from her, but they killed her. It seemed all wrong.

"None of it makes any sense!' I groaned, barely noting the fact that we were pulling up to the hotel, or the six sad looks that were sent in my direction. I wanted to tune the rest of the world out, but that's one thing about being a spy… the spy in you never really turns off, so you notice everything and anything, whether you want to or not. I noticed the girl's feet shifting uncomfortably, contrasting to their calm demeanor.

"Look… Macey, Bex, Liz… your best friend since you were in school is—dead…." I choked out the last part. "How can you act like you don't care?" my voice was sad.

"Trust me Zachary Goode, the day you doubt the fact that I care about Cam is the day you die, so I'd suggest taking that back very quickly." Bex said, her voice quavering and her accent extremely strong. "And I'm sure we'll show emotion, but right now, as much as I hate it… we're still on a mission. A mission that for Cammie's sake we _have_ to finish. We're in front of civilians right now, and civilians don't know the truth. It's best that they stay ignorant. Now I know you're grieving, bloody hell if the rest of us aren't, but you need to pull your bloody self together right now, before I bloody decide to let my bloody emotions out through you." She sat back against the leather seat until the door next to her was opened and one by one, we all stepped out, putting up a façade. As if there wasn't a huge hole gaping in the group, pulsing as if it felt the need to remind us that one of us was gone, and we couldn't get them back.

Joe Solomon always said time was the greatest spy. It snuck up on you, pulled the world from underneath your feet and let you fall. I fell. And when I fell, damn it, I fell hard.

We put on faces that resembled those of people who were rich tourists, exploring the globe, but my eyes wanted to defy me. My eyes wanted to do what I promised myself I would never do. But I wanted to, now. Because when the world is yanked out from underneath your feet and you fall, you might resort to things you'd promised yourself years ago you would never do.

I wanted to cry.

Sure, I hadn't known her long, but for what I had known her was amazing.

Time is also a great thief, it will steal and steal from you, and the worst part is time isn't something you can stop. It's not something you can reverse. It's not something you can fight. And when time takes someone from you, and hands them to death, you can't get them back.

We arrived up in the suite the agency had gotten for us. The news hadn't quite reached them yet. One of the greatest spies the world had ever known was dead. The greatest girl I had ever known was dead.

I finally understood what Bex meant in the car because the minute she put her stuff down, she dashed into the bathroom. A minute later I heard a muffled scream and something shattering against the wall. I almost wanted to go see if she was alright, but that was stupid. Of course she wasn't alright. The next moment I heard her crying. She was crying, and it was one of the most heart-wrenching sounds I had ever heard. I was the sound of pure sorrow.

It made me want to cry.

"UGH!" I yelled and kicked the wall. "Why can't any of it make sense?"

"Look, Zach, dude…" Grant said softly. "I know you're upset but try to understand—"

"That's the problem! I don't understand!" I yelled. "They have seven of the highest trained operatives in the world that oppose them in one room, compromised, and they don't do anything but give us a few bruises. Cammie, they wanted information from her. Information that only she had! And they killed her! Killed the only chance of success they had, and it. Just. Doesn't. make sense." Every word was followed by my fist slamming down on the desk pushed against a wall. I sat down and laid my head on my arm. That's when I realized that it was wet. My eyes were wet.

I cried.

"I don't know all the answers, Zach, but they're doing this for a reason. We have to figure out what that is." Jonas said. Macey and Liz were quiet. Bex had stopped sobbing in the bathroom and soft footsteps let me know she had come out.

"Guys." Even after crying, Bex's voice and eyes were strong and hard. "Cammie was sent here on a mission. That mission was to make sure the circle didn't get those codes. They have those codes. Now I don't know about you, but Cam never left a mission unfinished, so I think we've had enough rest. It's time to break into the circle headquarters."

**Cammie**

My entire body ached as I sat on the cold, hard stone floor. My hands, shackled to the walls, hung limply at my sides. My wrists and ankles were raw from rubbing against the metal cuffs.

It's been eight days since I'd woken up. Each and every one of them, they tried to get me to tell them where it was, but I would never tell.

I thought they'd learned that about me the first time. I don't cave in. I don't give up hope. I never quit.

Cave in, my body screamed after eight days of torture and starving. Give up, the logical part of my mind said. Quit, I wanted to tell myself. Eight days and no one had come for me. No one had contacted me. No one had even given the slightest hint that they'd found out I was here. But I would never quit, and the people I was dealing with were starting to realize that.

Each day the torture got worse, always bringing me closer to the brink of death, but I'd be given medical treatment, only to have it come closer the next day.

What I wore no longer resembled anything close to a dress. It was cut off just below my hips now, showing more than I would have liked, especially with male agents guarding and interrogating me. It was slashed to pieces as if I'd been attacked by a tiger. I felt like I'd been slashed to pieces by a tiger. But I wouldn't give in. I knew that for the sake of the world, I had to stay strong or let them kill me.

I was almost passed out when the alarms started flashing and sirens wailed throughout the building.

Then it was black.

**Zach**

"So, everyone understand the plan?" Bex asked again, and we all nodded, the small chopper, being operated by grant was quickly making its way to the COC headquarters in southern Germany.

It'd been eight days since she was killed. Each day felt like torture, but I was into the new plan. I'd finish this mission for Cammie, then maybe I'd quit the CIA. I'd get a legend and live in Europe for the rest of my life. The fact was, I wasn't sure I _wanted_ to be a spy anymore. I'd seen to much, and it was destroying me.

"Alrighty, then. "Bex said, finishing the harness she was rappelling down with. "Let's get moving team. Everyone on Comms. On my mark, Lizzie. Come one guys." She motioned to the rest of us and we dropped onto the building's roof from our ropes, landing softly.

"Entering now. Bookworm, start the alarms." And with that command, ninety percent of the COC members in this base were clearing out, trying to find the person who'd tripped the sensor on the western edge of the property, even though it was just Liz tampering with the security system.

Macey opened the hatch in the roof and we all dropped down to the darkened corridor. Great. Phase two.

Liz had caused a black out so we could reach our target, completely unseen. We followed the path that we'd all memorized so many times that I could redo it backwards and upside down while wearing a blindfold, but I didn't dare get cocky. Not anymore. I'd seen what had happened when you got too comfortable. People end up dying.

Fortunately, we reached the core without anyone seeing us. I saw light coming from around the door, which was good. Liz said she'd leave the room alone until we got there, so they wouldn't get too suspicious, and we'd know what room when we got there.

"One… two…" and we barged in, slapping a Napotine patch on every single person, until it looked like we were in a room filled with dead bodies. I know, a bit morbid, but it was true. Jonas walked over to the main computer, typing in a sequence and before long, a small chip, the microchip we were looking for, popped out the side. Bex snatched it, we shut down the lights in here then left the room.

"Alright, Bookworm." I said "Start phase three." And with that she tripped another sensor on the other side of the building, sending the people running again.

"You have five minutes to get back to the roof, before they figure it out." Liz's voice crackled over the Comms.

"Whatever you say, Lizzie." Bex whispered and we started to turn a corner when I froze. It was her. Cammie. I couldn't see anything but her voice seemed to echo through my head. No one else noticed anything was different.

"Zach." She said. "Zach." Over and over and over again. Bex looked back at me.

"Come on, Zach! What are you waiting for?" She almost yelled.

"Cammie." I breathed.

"Look, Zach as much as I hate to say it. Cammie. Is. Dead. Now let's go." With that, she grabbed my arm, pulled me up to the roof and we flew away from the still panicking terrorist base. We had the chip, but that almost didn't matter anymore. Her voice kept haunting me.

"Zach." It would whisper. "Zach. Zach. Zach." getting more and more strained with each one, until it was no more than a whisper and it faded.

**Cammie**

Everyone was talking about a breach on the western side, so everyone, and I mean everyone went running, then the lights went out, and I knew something was wrong.

It wasn't too long after when I heard the voices.

"Whatever you say, Lizzie." It was Bex. Tears slipped down my cheeks. I tried to call out to her, but my voice wasn't even a whisper. It was so faint, I'm sure none of them heard it. Then I thought. Zach must be with them. I struggled against my bonds and yelled his name, but it barely came out louder than Bex's. A pair of footsteps stopped.

"Come one, Zach! What are you waiting for?" Bex asked strongly.

"Cammie." He breathed. His voice made the stream of tears down my face go even faster.

"Look, as much as I hate to say it, Zach. Cammie. Is. Dead. Now let's go." She jerked him forward and their footsteps faded.

They thought I was dead. That was the problem. I couldn't expect a rescue team anytime soon so I knew that I had to use the distraction to my advantage. I looked hard at where the chains were attached to the wall and the bolts are what my eyes were on. They were old rusted and almost frozen right now. Perfect. I braced my feet against the walls and pushed until the metal broke through my skin. I wanted to cry out, but if I hadn't during interrogation, I wouldn't during this. Two more tugs and my chains clattered to the floor. I was now able to reach the key (Foolishly kept on the desk) and unlocked myself. Following the others up through the roof hatch I saw a helicopter fly off in the distance and it took all my will to focus on the task at hand.

I looked west and there were still some people standing watch over there, while everyone else was checking on the eastern side. I decided I'd go north, find the next town, and then find the others. With that. I dropped from the roof and headed off north, careful to avoid tripping the sensors, and sending a mad chase after me.

I'll find you Zach. I will. I promise.


End file.
